🎩👀 Get ready to be whisked away to the gritty streets of 1891 NYC with Serpent Heart! This historical mystery is like a cocktail of suspense, drama, and vintage pizzazz! With a kick-butt female inquiry agent and a cast of quirky characters, it's a page-turner that’ll keep you guessing who’s playing dirty and who’s just plain dastardly. Trust me, if you love a good twist and turn in a mystery, this book’s got it all. Grab your copy and dive into the mayhem—this is one ride you don’t want to miss! 📚🔍

I absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed the way the author wrote the dynamics between the characters, each set had spark and a tingling tension. (Maude and Mick/ Delia and Luke/ Delia and Chance). I especially enjoyed puck the parrot that made me laugh out loud. It was well written and a fun read. I would definitely recommend this book for a cozy night in with a cup of cocoa!

In Serpent Heart, Maggie MacKeever crafts an engaging period mystery filled with colorful, larger-than-life characters set in 1891 New York City. The plot kicks off with the grisly death of a woman in Delia Ross's office, thrusting the trailblazing female investigator into a world of disguises, betrayals, and multiple murders. What makes the story truly shine is its vaudeville-like charm, where exaggerated personalities and improbable situations create a lively, farcical tone. From crooked politicians to a parrot with piratical commentary, each character brings something unique to the table, making the mystery as much about the people involved as the crimes themselves. With witty writing and a mix of humor and intrigue, this second book in The Cobblestone Chronicles is an entertaining ride that perfectly balances lightheartedness with suspense.

I really liked this book. The cast of characters are so different from one another and extremely fun to read about. The characters truly carried the story because of the differences between them and how they all act, think, and speak differently and all bring different characteristics and stories to the overarching plot.

This is the second in this series and I found it to be much more entertaining than the first. The characters are still really interesting but it seemed that the plot line, action, and mystery were a little bit more developed. I enjoyed this book and the period in which it was set. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series, and would recommend this book as a period mystery with the hopes for some romance in future stories. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

Thank you to Vintage Ink Press and NetGalley for an advance readers copy/

This enjoyable farce of a mystery is much like the vaudeville that suffuses its 1891 setting: exaggerated characters, improbable situations, innuendo, droll humor, and buffoonery.

Delia Ross, a 40-ish former actress, has become the first female private investigator in New York City, a provider of discreet inquiries. Her older sister, Maude, is a social reformer for women’s and children’s rights. Between them they interact with a wide range of people, all deftly drawn, from crooked politicians to questionable police, financial speculators, anti-suffrage women’s groups, scam artists, headline-seeking reporters, singers, prostitutes, and a parrot who aptly comments on situations in piratical language.

The grisly death of a woman in Delia’s office starts the story, and there are more deaths, disguises, and double crossings to come. Although there are some grim scenes, the witty writing and several rather endearing characters make this an enjoyable, light read.